Gusting 22
1/4/13
Today I decided to schedule a flight lesson. Without really thinking about wind, I showed up at the airport. It was when I got out of the car that I realized the amount of wind that was going to be a factor in today's flight. Normally in cold weather, I preflight the plane inside the hangar. Since we needed fuel, I was forced to bring the plane out of the hangar and into the bitter cold and piercing winds to finish my preflight and have the plane fueled.
Upon takeoff, the plane climbed much faster than normal. I guess I should mention that the winds were from 250 at 13 knots and gusts of 22 knots. For any of you non-pilots out there thats about 15 mph gusting to about 25 mph. In the air, we had a 40 mph headwind on the downwind leg of the pattern. Today's lesson was just takeoff and landing performance in extreme crosswind conditions. All together, we completed 11 takeoffs and landings.
On one of my approaches, something didn't feel right. I was too high and a little fast. I thought to myself that landing should be my second option. My first: to go around. So I powered up and climbed back to pattern altitude. I was proud of myself for making this decision because too many student pilots feel that they have to land and can't wait to get the plane on the ground. My mentality? Instead of an uncomfortable approach and crappy landing, just go around and shape up the approach for an excellent landing. It is safer and you feel batter after making a good landing.
At first, my landings weren't as good as I'd like them to be. But, with each landing, I improved more and more. I'm glad I got this good practice and had the chance to challenge myself. Now it's time to do my flight homework and get prepared for the next lesson. Who knows what it will bring?
Check out the clip from our last pattern today: